JT25, 6/2/2011

Date: 6/2/2011

Participants: Patrick McCurdy, Tom Mahood

General search area: Park Blvd. to Quail Wash north of Smith Water Canyon mouth, then north to JTNP boundary

Rationale for searching this area:

One of the rules in SAR is that distressed subjects tend to keep going downhill. If Bill had made it over to the north side of Quail Mountain, all the drainages dump into Quail Wash, which eventually exits the park to the north. And for someone up on the Quail Ridge, the homes just outside the north park boundary seem very close (they are in fact not) and could be an attraction. This all downhill path leads past Quail Spring, past the mouth of Smith Water Canyon, and through a wide valley until reaching the northern park limits. As Quail Wash passes just north of the Smith Water Canyon mouth, there is a small area of Serin Drive cell tower coverage right at 10.6 miles (There are a couple more cell zones a bit further north). It was conceivable Bill could have taken this route, pinged the cell tower near the mouth of Smith Water Canyon, but didn’t make it to the homes at the north boundary. This area had never been searched in the initial search, so it was worth a look.

Impressions of area and findings:

Once in Quail Wash, we discovered it was pretty much a waste of time. The wash is apparently a well used route by the local residents just outside the park and gets a lot of foot traffic. Footprints were everywhere. We even saw ATV tracks up the wash left by some idiot sneaking well into the park. The topography is such that anyone travelling northerly in Quail Wash would be highly discouraged from leaving it. It’s clearly the easiest route. So anyway travelling this way, perhaps seeking shelter in the shade available along the edges, would be soon found by the locals. There was no conceivable way someone could be in the wash area and not seen.

Coverage level:

Between us and the locals, excellent. We also explored areas outside the wash, just because it was interesting to do so. This just seems like an improbable place for Bill to be.

Comments:

Anyone who drives an ATV off road in JTNP is an asshat, no matter what the reason.